SCIENCE MARCH PAGE A3
MEDITATION PAGE A5
A NATIONAL PACEMAKER AWARD NEWSPAPER
VOL. 24, NO. 8 The student publication of Washtenaw Community College
MONDAY, MAY 1, 2017 www.washtenawvoice.com
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN
Enrollment doubled TECHNICAL SCHOOL CELEBRATES TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY
Budget proposal would up student aid BY
SUNI JO ROBERTS
CARMEN CHENG
| WASHTENAW VOICE
Staff Writer
Caitlin Do, first year Washtenaw Technical Middle College is a paralegal studies major with future plans to transfer to the University of Michigan. BY JENELLE
Editor
FRANKLIN
Washtenaw Technical Middle College students are part of the campus landscape at Washtenaw Community College. WTMC is the sole charter school affiliated with WCC, its students share the buildings and experiences of college life with the rest of the student population, creating a more age diverse campus. WTMC is celebrating its twentieth year in 2017 with 640 students enrolled. In eight years, the student body at WTMC has doubled. At the WCC board meeting on April 25, their contract was renued for another five years. “We are the fastest growing
school in Washtenaw County,” Dean Karl Covert said. Covert has found WTMC to be, “wonderful for students, creating meaningful opportunities for students,” he said. “Students can come here in their ninth, 10th, or 11th grade years. Some students have never been to high school, they come straight from middle schools,” Katie Glupker middle college English teacher and student council advisor said. The curriculum and rate of progression in WTMC is different than found in a traditional public high school Glupker mentioned. “We know that students progress at different rates,” Glupker said. “Some students come in and
they are really strong in a subject so they are ready pretty quickly to take college level in that subject. Some students have a weak subject and so we keep them with us until they are ready to do college work.” The large load of responsibilities being placed on WTMC students is not overlooked by Glupker. “We are asking a lot of a student to say, ‘before you graduate high school you have to do a college course,’” Glupker said. WTMC students undergo skills training for assisting in the adultfilled classrooms during their transition period. These are called “soft skills,” and are taught during the first five weeks of the semester. The system has levels and when completed, the
students progress towards mastering all of the soft skills curriculum. “These are different than academic skills. Things like: communication, being prepared for class, being responsible for your stuff, how do you talk to the instructor, how do you stay in class and not leave?” Glupker said. Caitlin Do, 15, is a first year WTMC student. Do is a paralegal studies student with a transfer to the University of Michigan in her future plans. When it comes to college v.s. high school atmosphere in campus classrooms, “I was surprised that there were more similarities than differences,” Do said,
William Johnson, vice president of administration and finance, presented the proposed 2018 fiscal year budget to the board of trustees during the April meeting. Included in the $100 million-plus budget is $50.8 million in revenue from local property taxes and $31.7 million in revenue from tuition and fees. Also, state funding provides $14.4 million in revenue for WCC. The largest expenditure in the budget is $79.1 million in personnel costs. When drafting the budget, Johnson consults departments across WCC to ask them one question. “Do you believe that you have enough resources in your budget to succeed at the goals and strategies that you are being asked to accomplish?,” Johnson said on his correspondence with departments across WCC. “And, if the answer is ‘no’ then we have some more work to do; so that’s the process that goes on through December through this fall.” Johnson highlighted an increase of $100,000 in scholarships budgeted for students, largely given to in-district students, to account for the decrease in pell grant money and increase in the amount of loans students have taken on in recent years.
Graduation update At the board of trustees’ meeting on Tuesday, April 25, the projections for winter 2017 graduates were presented by Linda Blakey, vice president of student and academic services. “Grades are due May 1, so when grades come in we will be auto awarding approximately 200 students at the end of the fall semester,” Blakey said. The office of student and academic services says that they expect to hand out 853 certificates of completion and 1193 associates degrees. The deadline to apply for graduation passed on April 28. Commencement will be held on Saturday, May 20 at 9:20 a.m. at the Eastern Michigan University Convocation Center on Hewitt Road between Huron River Drive and Washtenaw Avenue. Graduates need to arrive by 8:15 a.m. and may invite as many guests as they wish. There was 30 minutes of public discussion on the possibility of armed security officers on campus. Presenters revealed mixed feelings on the matter, further discussion has been scheduled. There will be another chance at a public hearing at 5 p.m. on May 23.
SPRING 2017 1569 STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO GRADUATE 853 CERTIFICATES WILL BE GIVEN 1193 ASSOCIATE DEGREES WILL BE GIVEN
SEE WTMC PAGE A2
Internships at WCC Getting an internship while in school can set students apart from other applicants when they are ready to apply for jobs in their field of study. Barbara Hauswirth, experiential learning coordinator at WCC, said along with giving students real world experience on different employers and organizations, internships can also help students connect their school work to real world experiences, which can improve their studies. “The other reason that I suggest students do this early is for academic reasons,” said Hauswirth. “What we see routinely, and I just started to notice this when students would come back to me and say ‘I just feel like after I did my internship things just started clicking more in my program studies.’” Hauswirth works with students within career services at WCC to connect them with experiences outside of the classroom. Experiences that she connects students with can include co-ops, job shadowing, volunteer opportunities and internships.
Students who are interested in experiences like this are encouraged to make an appointment with career services. From there, Hauswirth meets with students to explore their skill set and what organizations might be a good fit for them. She encourages students to come to career services as early as their first semester at WCC because she says it’s never too early to learn about real world applications of academic study. “You may or may not have the skills necessary to get all the internships that employers are offering out there; some have more stringent requirements in terms of how many classes you have to take, how far along in your program you have to have,” said Hauswirth. “But, there are many opportunities that even first semester students pass by because they feel like they are not ready or qualified yet for internships and there are many students who are taking advantage of internships really early on.” When students meet with Hauswirth, they get the chance
SEE INTERNSHIPS PAGE A2
| WASHTENAW VOICE
SUNI JO ROBERTS
Staff Writer
EMILY HUBBEL
BY
Cole Burgess, overcame setbacks with the help of WCC, to get a paid internship at Vail Resorts at Mt. Brighton